Portion: (Genesis 32:4-36:43)

[The focus of this Torah portion series is family structure and function as revealed in Scripture. I.e., headship, patriarchy, marriage, etc, graduating to understanding community and Israel as a whole. If you have not read other portions up to this point, you may want to as parts build on previous lessons in

Torah, available at: https://natsab.com/torah-portion-series/ ]

One of a patriarch’s responsibilities is the protection of his family, and our portion opens with Jacob taking extreme measures. Recall that when he left the Land and his father , twenty years earlier,

Esau was seeking his life. Now, having sent advance notice to of his return, Jacob learns that

Esau is coming with 400 men!! This is a great prophetic picture of Jacob’s Troubles at the time of redemption. Ponder that deeply as we will not pursue the thought in this commentary. We do recommend Peter G. Rambo, Sr.’s Ten Parts in the King; The Prophesied Reconciliation of God’s Two

Witnesses as an excellent resource for tracing and understanding this amazing sequence and its relevance to the dividing of Israel into two houses, God’s purposes for doing so, and the relevance to end times.

A Godly patriarch should immediately go to prayer in any and all situations. The more dire, the greater should be our reliance on the Almighty. This is exactly Jacob’s reaction and in model fashion, he calls on God then reminds Him of the promises made. In essence, Jacob calls out and says to God, ‘If You don’t step in, Your promise and therefore your Name is not true.’ Here is what Jacob said,

9 Jacob said, “O God of my father and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. 11 Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. 12 For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’”

Jacob reminds Yah that he is following direct instructions to return to the Land, that Yah has shown him favor, yet his family is now divided into two companies and potentially in grave danger.

Scripture does not spell out the source of Jacob’s solution to send a huge ‘peace offering’ and separate the family into groups, further it does not explain the source of Jacob’s extreme acquiescence toward

Esau. We can only assume that he is operating under the direction of the Almighty. As armchair quarterbacks on Monday morning, we can second guess his moves, but without question Jacob is decisively taking action to protect his family and, as necessary, sacrifice assets.

A clue for this sequence of events may be hidden in Jacob’s wrestling match with ‘a man.’

Every man who is serious about following his Head will have to come, maybe multiple times, to a place of wrestling and full submission to Yeshua. Jacob does in a very personal way.

24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25

When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” 31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. 32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.

Significantly, Jacob’s walk was different after this and his name was changed.

Naming something or someone indicates ownership. The Messiah owns Jacob and names him, Israel.

Further, He causes Jacob, now Israel, to walk differently. If your encounter with the Messiah doesn’t change the way you live, the way you ‘walk’ then you have not yet really encountered Him!!

As to the ‘ownership’ aspect, consider how many Apostles regard themselves as bondservants of the

Messiah. They regarded themselves as nothing and Him as everything. Jacob learns that lesson in

Genesis 32:24-32.

33 Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. 2 He put the maids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 But he himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

Jacob places the family in order, then leads them, as he faces Esau. We’ll not parse his actions with

Esau or the potential dangers faced from Esau. Most commentaries agree that Esau’s intent was not for the well being of Jacob or his family. What we see is that Jacob acts with great diplomacy in a difficult situation and manages, presumably with Yah’s protection, to extricate himself and his family before turning toward the heart of the Land. We are not told how much time passes between these events and chapter 34, but we can probably assume that Dinah was in the 11 to 14 year old range. The chapter begins,

34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. 2 When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. 3 He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.” 5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in.

Multiple family and cultural matters should be considered from these verses.

• Was Dinah alone? Why was she out visiting?

• By western standards, she was very young. Is this a problem?

• Dinah had been defiled (raped). Now what?

• Jacob waited for all the sons to get home.

Our imagination likely pictures at that time as the wild, wild west, minus black powder. We also, likely consider ourselves so much more sophisticated and ‘enlightened’ by Western ‘culture.’ We fail to realize that sinners are sinners, regardless of the age and time. Why was Dinah not better supervised or protected? Was she alone? The text seems to indicate that she was, though some commentaries disagree.

Young ladies are an innocent treasure that every patriarch should guard. They are particularly vulnerable and easy prey, but also of special value in ancient culture if their purity remains intact. The defilement of Dinah was a serious blow to the family both socially and financially. In Western culture, we tend not to think in any of these terms and falsely believe that a young girl is perfectly safe in many, many very dangerous or defiling circumstances. Consider how overtly sexualized our culture is and the images and messages a girl receives just from cell phone memes and television advertisements. Then, most of our culture allows or even encourages these young ladies in the prime of their hormonal cocktail to begin dating at 15 or 16 and moving off to unsupervised college at 18?

By no means am I advocating locking them in a closet or living as hermits, but do we ever stop and really consider the culture by which we are surrounded that is completely upside down as compared to

Scriptural norms and a Biblical / Torah based community? Do we consider the additional pressure we place on our young people, both male and female, simply by consuming hormone laden meats that cause early physical development before they are mentally and spiritually prepared to stand in righteousness? These are just a couple questions that open the door to some very serious questions that need to be asked by anyone desiring to ‘come out of Babylon and not receive her judgments.’ (Rev.

18:4) Patriarchal living in a Torah based community should be the cry of our hearts….

We should also take the time to reevaluate whether our plans and goals for young ladies are driven by cultural expectations or Biblical expectations. Recall that the woman is to be a helpmeet to her husband and be assimilated to him. (See the Breisheet in our Torah Portion Series.) Further, the basic command that she is given to help man with is being fruitful and multiplying. Western culture has a growing fertility crisis that is fueled by multiple factors, not the least of which is women delaying marriage and child-bearing until their mid-30’s while living outside of their father’s covering.

While we are very much opposed to child brides, it is quite reasonable, from a Biblical perspective, for a young lady to be marriageable at 18 to 20. Her primary purpose is not career or profession, though her husband may choose to extend her gifting in that area through education and family business. Much needs to be researched and discussed in this area, but we would assert that the way of our culture is decidedly contrary to Scripture and therefore needs to be reassessed. ‘Coming out of Babylon’ demands that we reassess many parts of family, community and culture from a Biblical perspective.

Returning to Dinah, the fact that she was defiled means justice needed to be served to restore both her and the family’s honor. Jacob wisely waits until all the sons are in from the field to have a discussion.

Again, we do not know the full dynamic or whether he had formulated a course of action. What we do know from the text is that Levi and Simeon took matters into their own hands. Their anger was justified, but their actions were not, particularly the misuse of circumcision, a sacred sign of the covenant, to incapacitate the men of Shechem. We’ll not discuss that as many others do, but will point out the results, good and bad, from their actions.

25 Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. 26 They killed Hamor and his son

Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth. 27 Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the

field; 29 and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and

their wives, even all that was in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and

Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”

Dinah’s name means ‘judgment’ and that is exactly what happens to Hamor by the hands of Levi and Simeon. Their means of enacting the justice, however, was less than righteous. Later as we progress through the Torah we will see that this even has a profound effect on the tribes of Levi and Simeon.

Levi will later repent while Simeon never does. For our purposes, the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons and set the direction for these two tribes.

The other brothers, apparently, are the ones that came and looted the city and captured the livestock, women and children. We can reasonably assume that many of these were married into the family, used as man and maid servants or sold. Flocks and wealth were absorbed into the family holdings, but the cost to the family for this course of action was high.

One question we must ask is where Jacob was for much of this. The text doesn’t tell us and we cannot make assumptions either positively or negatively. What can be said is that the head of a family needs to be assuming a central and decisive role when faced with circumstances and actions of this magnitude. Jacob articulates at the end of the passage that the actions of his sons has jeopardized the family. In their anger, the boys did not think through all the moving parts before wreaking vengeance on the Hivites. This should have been a great lesson to all involved to defer to the patriarch in making a decision that will affect the whole family.

As we have discussed in a previous portion, one of the functions of the head of a family is spiritual leader. He sets the tone and leads the family in worship as well as intercedes on their behalf. Chapter

35 opens with Jacob answering the call of God to go to Bethel and build and altar. Notice the specific steps Jacob takes in leading and preparing his house for this event.

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; 3 and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem.

5 As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is,

Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.

7 He built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother. Notice Jacob’s function as priest of the family and his personal interaction with the Almighty. Notice also the ‘God appeared’ and ‘spoken with’ references in vss. 1, 9,13, 14 and 15. Especially interesting is verse 13 and the phrase, ‘God went up from him’ strongly connecting with Judges 13:20 and the appearance of the Angel of the Lord. Is this Yeshua who Jacob was interacting with? I think so.

One troubling matter in Jacob’s actions is that he does not destroy the idols of foreign gods among them. He does put them away and has them purify themselves, a strong connection to Exodus 19:14-

17ff, but there is not a ‘cutting off’ of the idols, an action that apparently didn’t happen in Exodus either if we consider Exodus 32. Men, if you are going to purify yourself and your family, don’t simply

‘bury the idols’ under the oak. Rather, insist on getting rid of them and not reserving them for later.

In quick succession, we are given multiple pieces of information that are of import. Several affect the long term trajectory of the family. Here is a quick rundown with notes:

• 35:10-11, God confirms Jacob’s name change to Israel. He also confirms Israel’s future

progeny, numbers and Land grant.

• 35:16-19, Benjamin is born and Rachel dies. Jacob overturns Ben-Oni’s name, empowering the

young lad instead of saddling him with a name of sorrow. Numbers 30 should come to mind.

• 35:22, Reuben has relations with Bilhah, the deceased Rachel’s maid. This is a particularly despicable defilement of his father’s bed, see Genesis 49:4, because Bilhah was all Jacob had

left of Rachel. In doing so, we will find that Reuben forfeited the right of firstborn.

• 35:27-29, Jacob and Esau bury their father Isaac who was 180 years old.

As you may recall from our last Torah Portion, one must wonder if Rachel’s premature death is at least in part precipitated by the curse spoken by Jacob in Genesis 31:32 as Laban searched his household goods. We cannot be sure, but the connection seems probable.

The last item that should be considered in this portion as it relates heavily to headship and patriarchy is the form of government that Esau exhibits in Genesis 36. Very few will notice what happens here or the relevance to God’s design, but it is a critical topic. Notice that unlike the Patriarchs and Israel in general that is patriarchal in succession, Esau functions very differently. He seems to have a democratic system of leadership wherein he and his sons infiltrated the land of Seir and as chiefs (some translations, dukes) take control of the Seir from the Horites. The process seems most apparent in the following passage. Note that succession, unlike the house of David or the house of Ephraim, is not father to son, but appears peaceful, therefore likely democratic or intrigue.

31 Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of before any king reigned over the sons of Israel. 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 Then Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of

Bozrah became king in his place. 34 Then Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites became king in his place. 35 Then Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place; and the name of his city was Avith. 36 Then Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place. 37 Then Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the

Euphrates River became king in his place. 38 Then Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor became king in his place. 39 Then Baal-hanan the son of

Achbor died, and Hadar became king in his place; and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.

It is these same Edomites that infiltrate and rise to power in Judea at the time of Yeshua, Herod being the most famous. A careful study will reveal that the Edomites infiltrated Greece and Rome leading to the form of government that we tend to think so sacred: Democracy/Democratic Republic.

Several years ago, Kimberly Rogers published a paper and three part audio series titled the Esau

Effect. (The link is for a Kindle version, but it is also available online here.) I highly recommend it to gain some insight into the difference between God’s plan of Theocratic Patriarchy as compared to

Esau’s Democratic Republic process used to infiltrate and assimilate before ultimately dominating a people. This MO has been repeated over and over and is the one enemy we are warned against throughout Scripture.

Just as this portion opened with Jacob’s deep concern over Esau coming with four hundred men and his rush to divide the family and cross the Jabbok into the Land, we will again have this wrestling match with Esau in the time of Jacob’s Troubles. Critical to our survival and passage is to learn and walk in the ways of the King. Central to this is understanding and walking in His plan for family, clan, tribe and nation. That plan is Biblical headship and patriarchy.

Shabbat Shalom!